North Saanich’s Hockeyville cash eyed for two new storage units

More than a year after winning the Kraft Hockeyville title, some of the cash reward that came with it is being used.

The Peninsula Recreation Commission this month will spend $24,604 of the $100,000 prize on a pair of sea containers from Van Isle Containers of Central Saanich. They will be used for storage by various user groups at the Panorama Recreation Centre.

Peninsula Recreation Commission Chair Wayne Ruffle says the containers were being designed by Van Isle Containers specifically for storage at the arena. They will be outfitted with shelves, insulated roofs and solar panels to run lighting inside. There will be two doors on each container, windows and venting.

Deciding what to use the Hockeville prize money for took a lot of time. Ruffle said it came down to what the user groups wanted and the cost of the items on their wish list.

“It’s a reasonable option and allows the money to go further,” he said.

The remainder of the money, he continued, will be part of further discussions by the Recreation Commission in 2017 on other improvements to the recreation centre. He said it could be used as seed money to help generate other donations and funding sources to make it go further.

“We want to do more.”

As for the containers, Ruffle said the user groups need the extra storage now.

The sea cans, as they are known, are 40 feet (approx. 12 meters) long and eight feet (2.4 meters) wide. Their roofs are around nine-and-a-half feet (2.9 meters) tall.

They are currently being built and will replace two existing, smaller containers on the west side of the recreation centre. They are expected to be ready by the end of this year.

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